LANCASTER : Plan to Build 2,500 Houses, Private Lake OKd

Ending months of controversy, the City Council has approved a developer’s revised plan to build nearly 2,500 houses and an adjoining 21-acre private lake in a remote area, despite concerns about the project’s location and water use.

Council members accepted the Encino-based Larwin Co.’s request to reconfigure its Del Sur Ranch project, approved by the Lancaster officials in 1990, to add the man-made lake and replace many larger lots with smaller parcels.

Because of the recession, Larwin never began construction under its original plan and instead sought the revisions from the city. Michael Nolte, an assistant to the president at Larwin, said the company believes the lake and an adjoining planned park will provide the 880-acre Del Sur Ranch project’s estimated 8,000 residents with “a superb amenity” not found in any other development in the Antelope Valley.